Souhan: The Gophers were spiraling, and now this is one of P.J. Fleck’s best seasons

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BleedGopher

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Per Souhan:

After Iowa embarrassed the Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium on Sept. 21, Fleck asked the fan base to stick with his team.

Since then, his team has improved dramatically.

The Gophers are even winning without relying too heavily on their traditional strength — a power running game. Darius Taylor has been effective, but he hasn’t dominated the way Mohamed Ibrahim did.
We’re seeing in-season improvement at quarterback, receiver and on defense.

That’s quality coaching.

What stands between Fleck and a second exceptional season, like the one he produced in 2019, is a victory against Penn State.

Beating Penn State would give the Gophers an opportunity to finish the regular season at 9-3 and 7-2 in the Big Ten, which would be one nonconference loss away from matching the final regular season record of the 2019 team that went to the Outback Bowl and beat Auburn.

Is beating Penn State possible?

Not long ago, beating USC and winning four in a row looked close to impossible.

www.startribune.com

Souhan: What seemed impossible four games ago is now very much a reality... here are three factors that turned around P.J. Fleck and the Gophers season

After a brutal start, P.J. Fleck and the Gophers have turned things around thanks to a star safety, improved QB play, and finally backing up the talk. And now what seemed impossible four games ago is very much a reality.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My top performing coaches from Week 10 ⬇️<br><br>1. Joey McGuire (<a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMcGuireTTU?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@JoeyMcGuireTTU</a>) <br>2. Shane Beamer (<a href="https://twitter.com/CoachSBeamer?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@CoachSBeamer</a>) <br>3. PJ Fleck (<a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Fleck?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@Coach_Fleck</a>) <br>4. Jim Knowles (<a href="https://twitter.com/CoachJimKnowles?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@CoachJimKnowles</a>) <br>5. Lane Kiffin (<a href="https://twitter.com/Lane_Kiffin?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@Lane_Kiffin</a>) <br>6. Fran Brown (<a href="https://twitter.com/FranBrownCuse?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@FranBrownCuse</a>) <br>7. Jeff Brohm (<a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBrohm?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@JeffBrohm</a>) <br>8. Rhett… <a href="https://t.co/dfM3Ea6PaD">pic.twitter.com/dfM3Ea6PaD</a></p>&mdash; Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) <a href="">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Maybe Soup Can used up all his Gopher coach venom on Kill when Kill was having his health problems.

I think this may have been the first column of his that I have read since then. Surprised at the high level of positivity.
 



Souhan is ...... different. In recent years he has turned into a crusader for women's sports.

compared to most of the other columnists and bloggers in the market, he has - IMHO - become the most unpredictable. You just don't know what he's going to focus on.

he did make one interesting point in his column - after the loss to Michigan, the Gophers were 3-7 in their last 10 games. the USC game could have been a turning point in the wrong direction. instead, it may have saved the season. I won't say it saved Fleck's job - but it did keep the heat from being turned up higher.
 



Schnauzer said:
Maybe Soup Can used up all his Gopher coach venom on Kill when Kill was having his health problems.

I think this may have been the first column of his that I have read since then. Surprised at the high level of positivity.
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Souhan can still f off
 



This is one of those deals where the predator tries to lull its victim into a false sense of security before snapping its head off. Souhan definitely has an "Fleck is a complete failure" article ready to fly as soon we hit any turbulence.
 


We won’t be able to judge the season until it’s over, of course, but anyone who doesn’t think this has been an impressive coaching performance by Fleck and co needs their head examined. This season could’ve easily spiraled, but instead the team has improved almost every week. Have they beat a juggernaut? No, but Illinois is very likely to finish with 9 wins. UCLA just beat Nebraska on the road. LSU will tell you USC is a good team despite their record. Maryland will still likely reach a bowl.
 

MGGopher said:
We won’t be able to judge the season until it’s over, of course, but anyone who doesn’t think this has been an impressive coaching performance by Fleck and co needs their head examined. This season could’ve easily spiraled, but instead the team has improved almost every week. Have they beat a juggernaut? No, but Illinois is very likely to finish with 9 wins. UCLA just beat Nebraska on the road. LSU will tell you USC is a good team despite their record. Maryland will still likely reach a bowl.
Click to expand...
Originally wrote this for Smokey Robinson...
 




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